AuthorTopic: Racism Hurts (Read 22757 times)

Pearson\'s undergraduate degree was earned at Lake Forest College and his J.D. at Northwestern University School of Law. Upon graduation, he first taught at, then became assistant director of, the clinical program at the Georgetown University Law Center. Pearson passed the bar for the District of Columbia in 1978 and was admitted to the bar for the U.S. Supreme Court in 1985.

Just a reminder to all you bigshots that go to Northwestern and the like and eventually become law professors -- this is who your colleagues are!

In June 2005, Orpah Winfrey was denied access to the Hermès company's flagship store in Paris, France. Winfrey arrived 15 minutes after the store's formal closing time, though the store was still very active and high end stores routinely extend hours for VIP customers. Winfrey believed she would have been allowed in the store if she were a white celebrity. "I know the difference between a store that is closed and a store that is closed to me," explained Winfrey. In September 2005, Hermès USA CEO Robert Chavez was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show and sincerely apologized for a rude employee.

I've never been in France but they say the n-word thing is not a big deal there - it's more about social class than racism or anything else.

Although you cannot reduce everything to class, class remains an important factor in understanding multiple forms of oppression. For instance, it is a mistake to view all blacks as one monolithic cultural group without marked differences: US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is black, after all (and conservative). Race, itself, is not necessarily a unifying force. While you cannot reduce the analysis of racism to social class, you cannot understand racism fully without a class analysis. What is crucial to understand is that the analysis of oppression should be approached through a convergent theoretical framework where the object of oppression is cut across by factors as race, class, gender, culture, and ethnicity.

In June 2005, Orpah Winfrey was denied access to the Hermès company's flagship store in Paris, France. Winfrey arrived 15 minutes after the store's formal closing time, though the store was still very active and high end stores routinely extend hours for VIP customers. Winfrey believed she would have been allowed in the store if she were a white celebrity. "I know the difference between a store that is closed and a store that is closed to me," explained Winfrey. In September 2005, Hermès USA CEO Robert Chavez was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show and sincerely apologized for a rude employee.

Oprah Winfrey's horoscope is quite interesting! She's a T-Cross in Fixed signs. Mercury in Aquarius is opposite Pluto in Leo. Both have square aspects from Mars in Scorpio. Mars (energy and action) is in Point Focus, giving plenty of energy. The empty leg of the cross is opposite that 11th house Mars. That means the focus is on her 5th house, the house of romance, creativity, and self-expression, as well as fun and games. She has to be having lots of fun doing that show (and all those other activities). Basically, her occupation is just being Oprah and that is a very 5th house. The T-Cross is in Fixed signs and they have to do with values. Through her show (and now the magazine) she affects the opinions and values of millions. The empty sign in the T-Cross is Taurus, a sign of money, possessions, and resources. Yes, Oprah has made a lot of money for herself. And every time she recommends something, it becomes a best seller.

It's funny to read rationalizations of critics that want to portray Eminem as attacking the system for real. Eminem is a creature of his environment. He is the authentic voice of the poor, white working class. White trailer trash. He is what American capitalism has made him. His angst is real, his anger legit -- though misdirected at women and gays because of malign social forces. Like Elvis. Or Bill Clinton. One critic called him "our" Johnny Rotten.

Although you cannot reduce everything to class, class remains an important factor in understanding multiple forms of oppression. For instance, it is a mistake to view all blacks as one monolithic cultural group without marked differences: US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is black, after all (and conservative). Race, itself, is not necessarily a unifying force. While you cannot reduce the analysis of racism to social class, you cannot understand racism fully without a class analysis. What is crucial to understand is that the analysis of oppression should be approached through a convergent theoretical framework where the object of oppression is cut across by factors as race, class, gender, culture, and ethnicity.

There's no doubt a lack of motivation among many black students to work hard at school. Many black youth do not have the motivation to stay in school and study. One of the most important factors in how motivated a student is is his parents. There has been shown to be a correlation between how much parents care about their child's education and how well the student performs in school.When students' parents care about their education enough to pay attention to the grades they get and make sure that they do their homework, students will at least care about what grades they get and will probably be motivated to do some of the work. It is also quite likely that such parents can instill in their children an understanding of the value of a good education. Unfortunately, many students' parents do not pay enough attention to their children's education, either because they do not think it is important, or because they are so busy with other problems.

An important part of this is how their parents perceive the educational system. Due to the fact that over the years schooling for black students has often been inferior to that of white students, many blacks do not trust the educational system to have any interest in preparing their students for desirable jobs. As a result, they often do not cooperate with the schools by making their students do their homework and by teaching their students how important it is for them to get an education. A main reason that black youth are not motivated to learn in school is due to inequality in society. The problem of black motivation originates with black people's awareness of a bias against blacks in the job market and in the educational system. A system of castelike stratification is in place, one in accordance with which many blacks are prevented from getting good jobs due to racist hiring practices. This is different from class stratification, which is the division of people by education and ability instead of race. In fact, class stratification has not completely replaced caste stratification.

Just yesterday, I was very happy with my life. Great job, great family, great friends, house ... But then something happened last night which completely changed my world. I was at a bar in West Hollywood where I got into a verbal argument with a blonde lady (she started it, I'm serious -- instead of saying 'excuse me', she just pushed me out of her way!). Now you know, two people at a bar, you know, tipsy, so an argument or two, not a big deal.

But what was different about this situation was that one of the involved parties (me) had dark skin. Just as I was about to walk away from the scene, the lady whispered this in my ear: "Why don't you go back to your county? We don't need you here!" This was such a big reality slap on my face that I was in absolute shock for about 10 minutes. I can do the best in law school, get a job at a great law firm, drive a fancy car ... but in the end, some lady at a bar, who most likely hasn't even set foot in college, can make a racist comment and completely destroy my confidence.

Well, to make the long story short, I, after a long time, faced such open racism and it has definitely affected the image I hold of myself. All I can say to this lady is, watch out! I'm an attorney and have so much to lose. But sooner or later, you are going to make a similar comment to a guy who is at your level (i.e. has nothing to lose) and he will not walk away from the scene. I guarantee it!

Sweet Revenge--> On a happier note, I ran into this lady after the bar closed. She was getting into her, oh lets just say, "crap" mobile. I, along with my friend, laughed out lound and yelled, "hey, you may not need me, but you definitely need a new car." LOL.